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Held: Section 3713(a) does not require that a federal tax claim be given preference over a judgment creditor's perfected lien on real property. Pp. 4-17.
(a) There is no dispute about the meaning of either the Pennsylvania lien statute or the Tax Lien Act. It is undisputed that, under the state law, the judgment creditor acquired a valid lien on Romani's real property before his death and before the Government served notice of its tax liens. That lien was therefore perfected in the sense that there is nothing more to be done to have a choate lien. E.g., United States v. City of New Britain, 347 U.S. 81, 84 . And a review of the Tax Lien Act's history reveals that each time Congress has revisited the federal tax lien, it has ameliorated pre-existing harsh consequences for the delinquent taxpayer's other secured creditors. Here, all agree that by §6323(a)'s terms, the Government's liens are not valid as against the earlier recorded judgment lien. Pp. 4-7.
(b) Because this Court has never definitively resolved the basic question whether the federal priority statute gives the United States a preference only over other unsecured creditors, or whether it also applies to the antecedent perfected liens of secured creditors, see, e.g., United States v. Vermont, 377 U.S. 351, 358 , n. 8, it does not seem appropriate to view the issue here as whether the Tax Lien Act has implicitly amended or repealed §3713(a). Instead, the proper inquiry is how best to harmonize the two statutes' impact on the Government's power to collect delinquent taxes. Pp. 7-12.
(c) Nothing in the federal priority statute's text or its long history justifies the conclusion that it authorizes the equivalent of a secret lien as a substitute for the expressly authorized tax lien that the Tax Lien Act declares "shall not be valid" in a case of this kind. On several occasions, this Court has concluded that a specific policy embodied in a later federal statute should control interpretation of the older federal priority statute, despite that law's literal, unconditional text and the fact that it had not been expressly amended by the later Act. See, e.g., Cook County Nat. Bank v. United States, 107 U.S. 445, 448451 . United States v. Emory, 314 U.S. 423, 429 -433, and United States v. Key, 397 U.S. 322, 324 -333, distinguished. So too here, there are sound reasons for treating the Tax Lien Act as the governing statute. That Act is the later statute, the more specific statute, and its provisions are comprehensive, reflecting an obvious attempt to accommodate the strong policy objections to the enforcement of secret liens. It represents Congress' detailed judgment as to when the Government's claims for unpaid taxes should yield to many different sorts of interests (including, e.g., judgment liens, mechanic's liens, and attorneys' liens) in many different types of property (including, e.g., real property, securities, and motor vehicles). See §6323. Indeed, given this Court's unambiguous determination that the federal interest in the collection of taxes is paramount to its interest in enforcing other claims, see Kimbell Foods, Inc., 440 U.S., at 733735 , it would be anomalous to conclude that Congress intended the priority statute to impose greater burdens on the citizen than those specifically crafted for tax collection purposes. Pp. 12-17. ___ Pa. ___, 688 A. 2d 703, affirmed. S TEVENS , J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which R EHNQUIST ,
C. J., and O'C ONNOR , K ENNEDY , S OUTER , T HOMAS , G INSBURG , and
B REYER , JJ., joined. S CALIA , J., filed an opinion concurring in part and
concurring in the judgment.
NOTICE: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the preliminary print of the United States Reports. Readers are requested to notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, D. C. 20543, of any typographical or other formal errors, in order that corrections may be made before the preliminary print goes to press.
No. 96-1613
UNITED STATES, PETITIONER v. ESTATE OF FRANCIS J. ROMANI
[April, 29, 1998]
JUSTICE STEVENS delivered the opinion of the Court.
The federal priority statute, 31 U.S.C. § 3713(a), provides that a claim of the United States Government "shall be paid first" when a decedent's estate cannot pay all of its debts. 1
The question presented is whether that statute requires that a federal tax claim be given preference over a judgment creditor's perfected lien on real property even though such a preference is not authorized by the Federal Tax Lien Act of 1966, 26 U.S.C. § 6321 et seq .
On January 25, 1985, the Court of Common Pleas of Cambria County, Pennsylvania, entered a judgment for $400,000 in favor of Romani Industries, Inc., and against Francis J. Romani. The judgment was recorded in the clerk's office and therefore, as a matter of Pennsylvania law, it became a lien on all of the defendant's real property in Cambria County. Thereafter, the Internal Revenue Service filed a series of notices of tax liens on Mr. Romani's property. The claims for unpaid taxes, interest and penalties described in those notices amounted to approximately $490,000.
When Mr. Romani died on January 13, 1992, his entire estate consisted of real estate worth only $53,001. Because the property was encumbered by both the judgment lien and the federal tax liens, the estate's administrator sought permission from the Court of Common Pleas to transfer the property to the judgment creditor, Romani Industries, in lieu of execution. The Federal Government acknowledged that its tax liens were not valid as against the earlier judgment lien; but, giving new meaning to Franklin's aphorism that "in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes," 2
it opposed the transfer on the ground that the priority statute (§3713) gave it the right to "be paid first."
The Court of Common Pleas overruled the Government's objection and authorized the conveyance. The Superior Court of Pennsylvania affirmed, and the Supreme Court of the State also affirmed. 547 Pa. 41, 688 A. 2d 703 (1997). That court first determined that there was a "plain inconsistency" between §3713, which appears to give the United States "absolute priority" over all competing claims, and the Tax Lien Act of 1966, which provides that the federal tax lien "shall not be valid" against judgment lien creditors until a prescribed notice has been given. Id., at 45, 688 A. 2d, at 705. 3
Then, relying on the reasoning in United States v. Kimbell Foods, Inc., 440 U.S. 715 (1979), which had noted that the Tax Lien Act of 1966 modified the Federal Government's preferred position in the tax area and recognized the priority of many state claims over federal tax liens, id., at 738, the court concluded that the 1966 Act had the effect of limiting the operation of §3713 as to tax debts. The decision of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court conflicts with two federal court of appeals decisions, Kentucky ex rel. Luckett v. United States , 383 F. 2d 13 (CA6 1967), and Nesbitt v. United States , 622 F. 2d 433 (CA9 1980). Moreover, in its petition for certiorari, the Government submitted that the decision is inconsistent with our holding in Thelusson v. Smith, 2 Wheat. 396 (1817), and with the admonition that " '[o]nly the plainest inconsistency would warrant our finding an implied exception to the operation of so clear a command as that of [31 U.S.C. § 3713],' " United States v. Key, 397 U.S. 322, 324 -325 (1970) (quoting United States v. Emory, 314 U.S. 423, 433 (1941)). We granted certiorari, 521 U. S. ___ (1997), to resolve the conflict and to consider whether Thelusson, Key, or any of our other cases construing the priority statute requires a different result.
There is no dispute about the meaning of two of the three statutes that control the disposition of this case. It is therefore appropriate to comment on the Pennsylvania lien statute and the Federal Tax Lien Act before considering the applicability of the priority statute to property encumbered by an antecedent judgment creditor's lien.
The Pennsylvania statute expressly provides that a judgment shall create a lien against real property when it is recorded in the county where the property is located. 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. §4303(a) (1995). After the judgment has been recorded, the judgment creditor has the same right to notice of a tax sale as a mortgagee. 4
The recording in one county does not, of course, create a lien on property located elsewhere. In this case, however, it is undisputed that the judgment creditor acquired a valid lien on the real property in Cambria County before the judgment debtor's death and before the Government served notice of its tax liens. Romani Industries' lien was "perfected in the sense that there is nothing more to be done to have a choate lien-when the identity of the lienor, the property subject to the lien, and the amount of the lien are established." United States v. City of New Britain, 347 U.S. 81, 84 (1954); see also Illinois ex rel. Gordon v. Campbell, 329 U.S. 362, 375 (1946).
The Federal Government's right to a lien on a delinquent taxpayer's property has been a part of our law at least since 1865. 5
Originally the lien applied, without exception, to all property of the taxpayer immediately upon the neglect or failure to pay the tax upon demand. 6 An unrecorded tax lien against a delinquent taxpayer's property was valid even against a bona fide purchaser who had no notice of the lien. United States v. Snyder, 149 U.S. 210, 213 -215 (1893). In 1913, Congress amended the statute to provide that the federal tax lien "shall not be valid as against any mortgagee, purchaser, or judgment creditor" until notice has been filed with the clerk of the federal district court or with the appropriate local authorities in the district or county in which the property subject to the lien is located. Act of Mar. 4, 1913, 37 Stat. 1016. In 1939, Congress broadened the protection against unfiled tax liens to include pledgees and the holders of certain securities. Act of June 29, 1939, §401, 53 Stat. 882-883. The Federal Tax Lien Act of 1966 again broadened that protection to encompass a variety of additional secured transactions, and also included detailed provisions protecting certain secured interests even when a notice of the federal lien previously has been filed. 80 Stat. 1125-1132, as amended, 26 U.S.C. § 6323.
In sum, each time Congress revisited the federal tax lien, it ameliorated its original harsh impact on other secured creditors of the delinquent taxpayer. 7
In this case, it is agreed that by the terms of §6323(a), the Federal Go ernment's liens are not valid as against the lien created by the earlier recording of Romani Industries' judgment.
The text of the priority statute on which the Government places its entire reliance is virtually unchanged since its enactment in 1797. 8
As we pointed out in United States v. Moore , 423 U.S. 77 (1975), not only were there earlier versions of the statute, 9
but "its roots reach back even further into the English common law," id., at 80. The sovereign prerogative that was exercised by the English Crown and by many of the States as "an inherent incident of sovereignty," ibid., applied only to unsecured claims. As Justice Brandeis noted in Marshall v. New York, 254 U.S. 380, 384 (1920), the common law priority "[did] not obtain over a specific lien created by the debtor before the sovereign undertakes to enforce its right." Moreover, the statute itself does not create a lien in favor of the United States. 10
Given this background, respondent argues that the statute should be read as giving the United States a preference over other unsecured creditors but not over secured creditors. 11
There are dicta in our earlier cases that support this contention as well as dicta that tend to refute it. Perhaps the strongest support is found in Justice Story's statement:
must be strained from its ordinary import, to speak
any other." Conard v. Atlantic Ins. Co. of N. Y., 1 Pet.
386, 439 (1828). Justice Story's opinion that the language employed in the statute "must be strained" to give it any other meaning is entitled to special respect because he was more familiar with 18th-century usage than judges who view the statute from a 20th-century perspective.
We cannot, however, ignore the Court's earlier judgment in Thelusson v. Smith, 2 Wheat. 396, 426 (1817), or the more recent dicta in United States v. Key , 397 U.S. 322, 324 -325 (1970). In Thelusson , the Court held that the priority statute gave the United States a preference over the claim of a judgment creditor who had a general lien on the debtor's real property. The Court's brief opinion 12
is subject to the interpretation that the statutory priority always accords the Government a preference over judgment creditors. For two reasons, we do not accept that reading of the opinion.
First, as a factual matter, in 1817 when the case was decided, there was no procedure for recording a judgment and thereby creating a choate lien on a specific parcel of real estate. See generally 2 L. Dembitz, A Treatise on Land Titles in the United States §127, pp. 948-952 (1895). Notwithstanding the judgment, a bona fide purchaser could have acquired the debtor's property free from any claims of the judgment creditor. See Semple v. Burd , 7 Serg. & Rawle 286, 291 (Pa. 1821) ("The prevailing object of the Legislature, has uniformly been, to support the security of a judgment creditor, by confirming his lien, except when it interferes with the circulation of property by embarrassing a fair purchaser"). That is not the case with respect to Romani Industries' choate lien on the property in Cambria County.
Second, and of greater importance, in his opinion for the Court in the Conard case, which was joined by Justice Washington, the author of Thelusson , 13
Justice Story explained why that holding was fully consistent with his interpretation of the text of the priority statute:
verse execution. This is the manner in which this
case has been understood, by the Judges who con-
curred in the decision; and it is obvious, that it estab-
lished no such proposition, as that a specific and per-
fected lien, can be displaced by the mere priority of
the United States; since that priority is not of itself
equivalent to a lien." Conard , 1 Pet., at 444. 14
The Government also relies upon dicta from our opinion in United States v. Key , 397 U.S., at 324 -325, which quoted from our earlier opinion in United States v. Emory , 314 U.S., at 433 : "Only the plainest inconsistency would warrant our finding an implied exception to the operation of so clear a command as that of [§3713]." Because both Key and Emory were cases in which the competing claims were unsecured, the statutory command was perfectly clear even under Justice Story's construction of the statute. The statements made in that context, of course, shed no light on the clarity of the command when the United States relies on the statute as a basis for claiming a preference over a secured creditor. Indeed, the Key opinion itself made this specific point: "This case does not raise the question, never decided by this Court, whether §3466 grants the Government priority over the prior specific liens of secured creditors. See United States v. Gilbert Associates, Inc., 345 U.S. 361, 365 -366 (1953)." 397 U.S., at 332 , n. 11. The Key opinion is only one of many in which the Court has noted that despite the age of the statute, and despite the fact that it has been the subject of a great deal of litigation, the question whether it has any application to antecedent perfected liens has never been answered definitively. See United States v. Vermont, 377 U.S. 351, 358 , n. 8 (1964) (citing cases). In his dissent in the Gilbert Associates case, Justice Frankfurter referred to the Court's reluctance to decide the issue "not only today but for almost a century and a half." 345 U.S., at 367 .
The Government's priority as against specific, perfected security interests is, if possible, even less settled with regard to real property. The Court has sometimes concluded that a competing creditor who has not "divested" the debtor of "either title or possession" has only a "general, unperfected lien" that is defeated by the Government's priority. E.g., id., at 366. Assuming the validity of this "title or possession" test for deciding whether a lien on personal property is sufficiently choate for purposes of the priority statute (a question of federal law, see Illinois ex rel. Gordon v. Campbell, 329 U.S., at 371 ), we are not aware of any decisions since Thelusson applying that theory to claims for real property, or of any reason to require a lienor or mortgagee to acquire possession in order to perfect an interest in real estate.
Given the fact that this basic question of interpretation remains unresolved, it does not seem appropriate to view the issue in this case as whether the Tax Lien Act of 1966 has implicitly amended or repealed the priority statute. Instead, we think the proper inquiry is how best to harmonize the impact of the two statutes on the Government's power to collect delinquent taxes.
In his dissent from a particularly harsh application of the priority statute, Justice Jackson emphasized the im portance of considering other relevant federal policies. Joined by three other Justices, he wrote:
On several prior occasions the Court had followed this approach and concluded that a specific policy embodied in a later federal statute should control our construction of the priority statute, even though it had not been expressly amended. Thus, in Cook County Nat. Bank v. United States, 107 U.S. 445, 448 -451 (1883), the Court concluded that the priority statute did not apply to federal claims against national banks because the National Bank Act comprehensively regulated banks' obligations and the distribution of insolvent banks' assets. And in United States v. Guaranty Trust Co. of N. Y., 280 U.S. 478, 485 (1930), we determined that the Transportation Act of 1920 had effectively superseded the priority statute with respect to federal claims against the railroads arising under that Act.
The bankruptcy law provides an additional context in which another federal statute was given effect despite the priority statute's literal, unconditional text. The early federal bankruptcy statutes had accorded to " 'all debts due to the United States, and all taxes and assessments under the laws thereof' " a preference that was "coextensive" with that established by the priority statute. Guarantee Title & Trust Co. v. Title Guaranty & Surety Co., 224 U.S. 152, 158 (1912) (quoting the Bankruptcy Act of 1867, Rev. Stat. §5101). As such, the priority act and the bankruptcy laws "were to be regarded as in pari materia , and both were unqualified; . . . as neither contained any qualification, none could be interpolated." Ibid. The Bankruptcy Act of 1898, however, subordinated the priority of the Federal Government's claims (except for taxes due) to certain other kinds of debts. This Court resolved the tension between the new bankruptcy provisions and the priority statute by applying the former and thus treating the Government like any other general creditor. Id. , at 158-160; Davis v. Pringle, 268 U.S. 315, 317 -319 (1925). 15
There are sound reasons for treating the Tax Lien Act of 1966 as the governing statute when the Government is claiming a preference in the insolvent estate of a delinquent taxpayer. As was the case with the National Bank Act, the Transportation Act of 1920, and the Bankruptcy Act of 1898, the Tax Lien Act is the later statute, the more specific statute, and its provisions are comprehensive, reflecting an obvious attempt to accommodate the strong policy objections to the enforcement of secret liens. It represents Congress' detailed judgment as to when the Government's claims for unpaid taxes should yield to many different sorts of interests (including, for instance, judgment liens, mechanic's liens, and attorneys' liens) in many different types of property (including, for example, real property, securities, and motor vehicles). See 26 U.S.C. § 6323. Indeed, given our unambiguous determination that the federal interest in the collection of taxes is paramount to its interest in enforcing other claims, see United States v. Kimbell Foods, Inc., 440 U.S., at 733 -735, it would be anomalous to conclude that Congress intended the priority statute to impose greater burdens on the citizen than those specifically crafted for tax collection purposes.
Even before the 1966 amendments to the Tax Lien Act, this Court assumed that the more recent and specific provisions of that Act would apply were they to conflict with the older priority statute. In the Gilbert Associates case, which concerned the relative priority of the Federal Government and a New Hampshire town to funds of an insolvent taxpayer, the Court first considered whether the town could qualify as a "judgment creditor" entitled to preference under the Tax Lien Act. 345 U.S., at 363 -364. Only after deciding that question in the negative did the Court conclude that the United States obtained preference by operation of the priority statute. Id. , at 365-366. The Government would now portray Gilbert Associates as a deviation from two other relatively recent opinions in which the Court held that the priority statute was not trumped by provisions of other statutes: United States v. Emory , 314 U.S., at 429 -433 (the National Housing Act), and United States v. Key , 397 U.S., at 324 -333 (Chapter X of the Bankruptcy Act). In each of those cases, however, there was no "plain inconsistency" between the commands of the priority statute and the other federal act, nor was there reason to believe that application of the priority statute would frustrate Congress' intent. Id., at 329. The same cannot be said in the present suit.
The Government emphasizes that when Congress amended the Tax Lien Act in 1966, it declined to enact the American Bar Association's proposal to modify the federal priority statute, and Congress again failed to enact a similar proposal in 1970. Both proposals would have expressly provided that the Government's priority in insolvency does not displace valid liens and security interests, and therefore would have harmonized the priority statute with the Tax Lien Act. See Hearings on H. R. 11256 and 11290 before the House Committee on Ways and Means, 89th Cong., 2d Sess., 197 (1966) (hereinafter Hearings); S. 2197, 92d Cong., 1st Sess. (1971). But both proposals also would have significantly changed the priority statute in many other respects to follow the priority scheme created by the bankruptcy laws. See Hearings, at 85, 198; Plumb 10, n. 53, 33-37. The earlier proposal may have failed because its wide-ranging subject matter was beyond the House Ways and Means Committee's jurisdiction. Plumb 8. The failure of the 1970 proposal in the Senate Judiciary Committee-explained by no reports or hearings-might merely reflect disagreement with the broad changes to the priority statute, or an assumption that the proposal was not needed because, as Justice Story had believed, the priority statute does not apply to prior perfected security interests, or any number of other views. Thus, the Committees' failures to report the proposals to the entire Congress do not necessarily indicate that any legislator thought that the priority statute should supersede the Tax Lien Act in the adjudication of federal tax claims. They provide no support for the hypothesis that both Houses of Congress silently endorsed that position.
The actual measures taken by Congress provide a supe rior insight regarding its intent. As we have noted, the 1966 amendments to the Tax Lien Act bespeak a strong condemnation of secret liens, which unfairly defeat the expectations of innocent creditors and frustrate "the needs of our citizens for certainty and convenience in the legal rules governing their commercial dealings." 112 Cong. Rec. 22227 (1966) (remarks of Rep. Byrnes); cf. United States v. Speers, 382 U.S. 266, 275 (1965) (referring to the "general policy against secret liens"). These policy concerns shed light on how Congress would want the conflicting statutory provisions to be harmonized:
In sum, nothing in the text or the long history of interpreting the federal priority statute justifies the conclusion that it authorizes the equivalent of a secret lien as a substitute for the expressly authorized tax lien that Congress has said "shall not be valid" in a case of this kind.
The judgment of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is affirmed.
It is so ordered.
1 "§3713. Priority of Government claims "(a)(1) A claim of the United States Government shall be paid first when"(A) a person indebted to the Government is insolvent and"(i) the debtor without enough property to pay all debts makes a voluntary assignment of property; "(ii) property of the debtor, if absent, is attached; or "(iii) an act of bankruptcy is committed; or "(B) the estate of a deceased debtor, in the custody of the executor or administrator, is not enough to pay all debts of the debtor. "(2) This subsection does not apply to a case under title 11." 31 U.S.C. § 3713. The present statute is the direct descendent of §3466 of the Revised Statutes, which had been codified in 31 U.S.C. § 191.
2 Letter of November 13, 1789 to Jean Baptiste Le Roy, in 10 The Writings of Benjamin Franklin 69 (A. Smyth ed. 1907). As is often the case, the original meaning of the aphorism is clarified somewhat by its context: "Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." Ibid.
3 The Federal Tax Lien Act of 1966, 26 U.S.C. § 6321 et seq. , provides in pertinent part: "§6321. Lien for taxes "If any person liable to pay any tax neglects or refuses to pay the same after demand, the amount (including any interest, additional amount, addition to tax, or assessable penalty, together with any costs that may accrue in addition thereto) shall be a lien in favor of the United States upon all property and rights to property, whether real or personal, belonging to such person." "§6323. Validity and priority against certain persons "(a) Purchasers, holders of security interests, mechanic's lienors, and judgment lien creditors "The lien imposed by section 6321 shall not be valid as against any purchaser, holder of a security interest, mechanic's lienor, or judgment lien creditor until notice thereof which meets the requirements of subsection (f) has been filed by the Secretary." Section 6323(f)(1)(A)(i) provides that the required notice "shall be filed . . [i]n the case of real property, in one office within the State (or the county, or other governmental subdivision), as designated by the laws of such State, in which the property subject to the lien is situated." If the State has not designated such an office, notice is to be filed with the clerk of the federal district court "for the judicial district in which the property subject to the lien is situated." §6323(f)(1)(B).
4 The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has elaborated: "We must now decide whether judgment creditors are also entitled to personal or general notice by the [County Tax Claim] Bureau as a matter of due process of law. "Judgment liens are a product of centuries of statutes which authorize a judgment creditor to seize and sell the land of debtors at a judicial sale to satisfy their debts out of the proceeds of the sale. The judgment represents a binding judicial determination of the rights and duties between the parties, and establishes their debtor-creditor relationship for all the world to notice when the judgment is recorded in a Prothonotary's Office. When entered of record, the judgment also operates as a lien upon all real property of the debtor in that county." In re Upset Sale, Tax Claim Bureau of Berks County , 505 Pa. 327, 334, 479 A. 2d 940, 943 (1984).
5 The post-Civil War Reconstruction Congress imposed a tax of three cents per pound on "the producer, owner, or holder" of cotton and a lien on the cotton until the tax was paid. Act of July 13, 1866, §1, 14 Stat. 98. The same statute also imposed a general lien on all of a delinquent taxpayer's property, see §9, 14 Stat. 107, which was nearly identical to a provision in the revenue act of Mar. 3, 1865, 13 Stat. 470-471, quoted in n. 6, infra .
6 The 1865 revenue act contained the following sentence: "And if any person, bank, association, company, or corporation, liable to pay any duty, shall neglect or refuse to pay the same after demand, the amount shall be a lien in favor of the United States from the time it was due until paid, with the interests, penalties, and costs that may accrue in addition thereto, upon all property and rights to property; and the collector, after demand, may levy or by warrant may authorize a deputy collector to levy upon all property and rights to property belonging to such person, bank, association, company, or corporation, or on which the said lien exists, for the payment of the sum due as aforesaid, with interest and penalty for non-payment, and also of such further sum as shall be sufficient for the fees, costs, and expenses of such levy." 13 Stat. 470-471. This provision, as amended, became §3186 of the Revised Statutes.
7 For a more thorough description of the early history and of Congress' reactions to this Court's tax lien decisions, see Kennedy, The Relative Priority of the Federal Government: The Pernicious Career of the Inchoate and General Lien, 63 Yale L. J. 905, 919-922 (1954) (hereinafter Kennedy).
8 The Act of Mar. 3, 1797, §5, 1 Stat. 515, provided: " And be it further enacted, That where any revenue officer, or other person hereafter becoming indebted to the United States, by bond or otherwise, shall become insolvent, or where the estate of any deceased debtor, in the hands of executors or administrators, shall be insufficient to pay all the debts due from the deceased, the debt due to the United States shall be first satisfied; and the priority hereby established shall be deemed to extend, as well to cases in which a debtor, not having sufficient property to pay all his debts, shall make a voluntary assignment thereof, or in which the estate and effects of an absconding, concealed, or absent debtor, shall be attached by process of law, as to cases in which an act of legal bankruptcy shall be committed." Compare §3466 of the Revised Statutes, and the present statute quoted in n. 1, supra . It has long been settled that the federal priority covers the Government's claims for unpaid taxes. Price v. United States, 269 U.S. 492, 499 -502 (1926); Massachusetts v. United States, 333 U.S. 611, 625626 , and n. 24 (1948).
9 "The earliest priority statute was enacted in the Act of July 31, 1789, 1 Stat. 29, which dealt with bonds posted by importers in lieu of payment of duties for release of imported goods. It provided that the 'debt due to the United States' for such duties shall be discharged first 'in all cases of insolvency, or where any estate in the hands of executors or administrators shall be insufficient to pay all the debts due from the deceased . . .' §21, 1 Stat. 42. A 1792 enactment broadened the Act's coverage by providing that the language 'cases of insolvency' should be taken to include cases in which a debtor makes a voluntary assignment for the benefit of creditors, and the other situations that §3466, 31 U.S.C. § 191 now covers. 1 Stat. 263." United States v. Moore, 423 U.S., at 81 .
10 "In construing the statutes on this subject, it has been stated by the court, on great deliberation, that the priority to which the United States are entitled, does not partake of the character of a lien on the property of public debtors. This distinction is always to be recollected." United States v. Hooe, 3 Cranch 73, 90 (1805).
11 Although this argument was not presented to the state courts, respondent may defend the judgment on a ground not previously raised. Heckler v. Campbell, 461 U.S. 458, 468 -469, n. 12 (1983). We will rarely consider such an argument, however. Ibid.; see also Matsushita Elec. Industrial Co. v. Epstein, 516 U.S. 367, 379 , n. 5 (1996).
12 The relevant portion of the opinion reads, in full, as follows: "These [statutory] expressions are as general as any which could have been used, and exclude all debts due to individuals, whatever may be their dignity. . . . The law makes no exception in favour of prior judgment creditors; and no reason has been, or we think can be, shown to warrant this court in making one. . . . "The United States are to be first satisfied; but then it must be out of the debtor's estate. If, therefore, before the right of preference has accrued to the United States, the debtor has made a bona fide conveyance of his estate to a third person, or has mortgaged the same to secure a debt; or if his property has been seized under a fi. fa., the property is devested out of the debtor, and cannot be made liable to the United States. A judgment gives to the judgment creditor a lien on the debtor's lands, and a preference over all subsequent judgment creditors. But the act of congress defeats this preference in favour of the United States, in the cases specified in the 65th section of the act of 1799." Thelusson v. Smith, 2 Wheat. 396, 425-426 (1817). In the later Conard case, Justice Story apologized for Thelusson : "The reasons for that opinion are not, owing to accidental circumstances, as fully given as they are usually given in this Court." Conard v. Atlantic Ins. Co. of N. Y., 1 Pet. 386, 442 (1828).
13 Justice Washington's opinion for this Court in Thelusson affirmed, and was essentially the same as, his own opinion delivered in the Circuit Court as a Circuit Justice. 2 Wheat., at 426, n. h.
14 Relying on this and several other cases, in 1857 the Attorney General of the United States issued an opinion concluding that Thelusson "has been distinctly overruled" and that the priority of the United States under this statute "will not reach back over any lien, whether it be general or specific." 9 Op. Att. Gen. 28, 29. See also Kennedy 908-911 (advancing this same interpretation of the early priority act decisions).
15 Congress amended the priority statute in 1978 to make it expressly inapplicable to Title 11 bankruptcy cases. Pub. L. 95-598, §322(b), 92 Stat. 2679, codified in 31 U.S.C. § 3713(a)(2). The differences between the bankruptcy laws and the priority statute have been the subject of criticism: "as a result of the continuing discrepancies between the bankruptcy and insolvency rules, some creditors have had a distinct incentive to throw into bankruptcy a debtor whose case might have been handled, with less expense and less burden on the federal courts, in another form of proceeding." Plumb, The Federal Priority in Insolvency: Proposals for Reform, 70 Mich. L. Rev. 3, 8-9 (1971) (hereinafter Plumb).
(Bench Copy)
Opinion of SCALIA , J.
No. 96-1613 _________________
ESTATE OF ROMANI Opinion of SCALIA , J. §3713 supreme. This implies that, if the proposals had not contained those additional features, or if Members of Con- gress (or some part of them) had somehow made clear in the course of rejecting them that they wanted the existing supremacy of the Tax Lien Act to subsist, the rejection would "provide support" for the Government's case. That is not so, for several reasons. First and most obvi- ously, Congress can not express its will by a failure to legislate. The act of refusing to enact a law (if that can be called an act) has utterly no legal effect, and thus has ut- terly no place in a serious discussion of the law. The Con- stitution sets forth the only manner in which the Members of Congress have the power to impose their will upon the country: by a bill that passes both Houses and is either signed by the President or repassed by a supermajority after his veto. Art. I, §7. Everything else the Members of Congress do is either prelude or internal organization. Congress can no more express its will by not legislating than an individual Member can express his will by not voting. Second, even if Congress could express its will by not legislating, the will of a later Congress that a law enacted by an earlier Congress should bear a particular meaning is of no effect whatever. The Constitution puts Congress in the business of writing new laws, not interpreting old
ing of earlier law." Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U. S.___ (1998) (slip op., at 12); id., at ___ (SCALIA , J., dissenting) ("This later amendment can of course not cause [the statute] to have meant, at the time of peti- tioner's conviction, something different from what it then said") (slip op., at 23). If the enacted intent of a later Con- gress cannot change the meaning of an earlier statute, then it should go without saying that the later unenacted intent cannot possibly do so. It should go without saying, and it should go without arguing as well. Cite as: ____ U. S. ____ (1998)3 Opinion of SCALIA , J.
I have in the past been critical of the Court's using the so-called legislative history of an enactment (hearings, committee reports, and floor debates) to determine its meaning. See, e.g., Conroy v. Aniskoff, 507 U.S. 511, 518529 (1993) (SCALIA , J., concurring in judgment); United States v. Thompson/Center Arms Co., 504 U.S. 505, 521 (1992) (SCALIA , J., concurring in judgment); Blanchard v. Bergeron, 489 U.S. 87, 98 -100 (1989) (SCALIA , J., concurring in part and concurring in judgment). Today, however, the Court's fascination with the files of Congress (we must consult them, because they are there) is carried to a new silly extreme. Today's opinion ever-so-carefully analyzes, not legislative history, but the history of legislation-thatnever-was. If we take this sort of material seriously, we require conscientious counsel to investigate (at clients' expense) not only the hearings, committee reports, and floor debates pertaining to the history of the law at issue (which is bad enough), but to find, and then investigate the hearings, committee reports, and floor debates pertaining to, later bills on the same subject that were never enacted. This is beyond all reason, and we should say so.
A free source of state and federal court opinions, state laws, and the United States Code. For more information about the legal concepts addressed by these cases and statutes visit FindLaw's Learn About the Law.
Citation: 523 U.S. 517
Docket No: No. 96-1613
Argued: January 12, 1998
Decided: April 29, 1998
Court: United States Supreme Court
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Bible Will 'Defend Itself' Against Pagan Books, Says NC Pastor
Less than a month after a North Carolina Pagan woman caused a stir because her son's middle school allowed him to take a Bible from the school's office, some area pastors are speaking out, saying that if it was the other way around, and their children could get books about Paganism from the school, they wouldn't mind.
Rusty Smart, an associate pastor at Calvary Worship Center in Marshall, N.C., told the Citizen-Times that if his son brought home a Pagan spell book he would use it as a "teaching moment" to share his Christian beliefs with his child without bothering the school.
"All these other religions claim to coexist, but they don't want to coexist with Christians," said Smart. "They want to drive us out."
Smart's son attends North Windy Ridge Intermediate School in Weaverville – the same school that found itself at the center of a controversy after Ginger Strivelli, a practicing Pagan, complained that her son received a Bible.
School officials say the Bibles were brought to the school by Gideons International and were placed in an open box from which students could take them if they wanted to. Following the complaint, the school's principal, Jackie Byerly, said she would allow other groups to offer their religious texts in the same way.
"If another group wishes to do the same, I plan on handling that the same way as I have handled this," Byerly said in December.
But when Strivelli brought Pagan spell books to the school on Wednesday, the Citizen-Times reports, she was told that they are not allowing any religious materials to be made available to students at this time.
"It's not fair for them to get away with changing after they already passed out their Christian propaganda," said Strivelli.
Gray Little, pastor of North Point Baptist Church, told The Christian Post on Friday that a Pagan is the "antithesis of a Christian," but says he would be okay with the school putting Pagan texts side-by-side with the Bibles.
"Go ahead. Make it available ... Because when you put God's Word beside anything else I don't have to defend it. I don't have to ... it will defend itself. It will rise up and do what it needs to do, and that is show the truth," he said.
Jan Blunt, communications director for Buncombe County Schools, told The Christian Post on Friday that the school district doesn't have a written policy with regards to whether or not religious texts can be offered in schools, but is currently reviewing the legality of the district's practices.
"We're very sensitive to our community in all directions," she said.
"We're quite a strong Christian community here. We're the home of Billy Graham so we certainly have all of that community here. Where the school is located is also ... a strong Wiccan community," she explained, adding that the district must be "sensitive to those folks too."
Although Strivelli was upset that her books weren't immediately made available to students, Blunt says it was important to deny her request until the district is confident it hasn't broken any laws.
"I think it just makes common sense, two wrongs don't necessarily make a right. So, in that vein, we're not taking any materials from anybody," said Blunt.
Although the school has not yet released its final decision in this case, Blunt says there is a possibility that the district's attorney, Christopher Campbell, will present his legal advice at a Feb. 2 meeting of the board of education.


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Not unlike a TV sitcom, in which maintaining the status quo is job one, The Twilight Saga is a film series not big on plot momentum from one episode to the next. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse has almost the same plot as the previous installment, New Moon.
As before, peeved redheaded vampire Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard, taking over for Rachelle Lefevre) lurks out of sight, plotting the revenge murder of waifish human Bella Swan (Kristin Stewart). As before, Bella frets over this threat to her life, but frets far more about her love triangle with vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and werewolf Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner). And most egregiously, Eclipse sends audiences out with the same ending as the previous installment, having advanced Bella's marital plans not a whit.
Despite this fundamental puzzlement, Eclipse is the most bearable (by which I mean, least boring) of the three Twilight Saga films based on the runaway-hit young adult novels by Stephenie Meyer. I strongly suspect fans will go gaga for Eclipse, which dutifully stokes the romantic embers between Bella and soul-mate Edward, escalates the confusion Bella feels regarding love-professing Jacob, and more than ever keeps Lautner in a state of undress (about 75% of his performance is shirtless).
Surely some unwilling males of the species will grudgingly accompany their dates to Eclipse, and director David Slade (Hard Candy) keeps them in mind with a pseudo-Narnian storyline of interspecies battle training in the woods. Anticipating an army of trouble-making vampires from Seattle, the Forks, Washington vamps and the native Quileute tribe of werewolves form an uneasy alliance to practice their butt-kicking—make that jugular-biting. With more success than his forebears, Slade calibrates the balance of moony romance to CGI-enhanced action (with a dash of monster mythology).
"Decisions, decisions," sez dry-witted bloodsucker Jane (Dakota Fanning), one of the Volturi overlords who police vamp activity. The two words sum up the sole theme of Eclipse, which matches New Moon's Romeo and Juliet allusions with a film-opening reading of Robert Frost's "Fire and Ice." The symbolism is bleedin' obvious to anyone paying attention: cold-as-ice Edward or fever-warm Jacob? The film doesn't much succeed in convincing us that there's any doubt in Bella's mind, but the scripting, acting and direction show enough micro-improvements to make the prolonged mooning and smoldering seem a bit more substantial and even, for a fleeting moment, fun (Jacob's not-quite double entendre to Edward, "Face it, I'm hotter than you").
The life choices of Eclipse, aligned as they are with Bella's graduation anxieties, neatly reflect the angst of transitioning tweens and teens. Sure, most of them aren't considering becoming a vampire to spend an eternal married life with their (puppy) loves, but the principle applies to college selection, the custody conflicts of divorce and the like. Plot or no, increasingly picturesque photography, amped-up action, borrowed poetry, and age-old romance have The Twilight Saga on its surest footing yet—that is, until the youngsters grow up and realize True Blood tells the same story so much better.
Summit delivers The Twilight Saga: Eclipse in a Blu-ray + DVD flipper disc. Image quality is top-notch, given the stylized source material. The look of these films won't be everyone's cup of tea, but Summit's hi-def transfer rigorously recreates that look for home screens, with a film-like veneer of grain, richly reproduced color, and excellent detail and texture. Some of the most shadowy scenes struggle a bit, but they looked pretty murky on the big screen, as well; this is just about as good as hi-def gets. Audio comes in a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix that nicely prioritizes dialogue over impeccably handled music, ambience, and busy special effects.
Bonus features kick off with audio commentary with actors Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, and audio commentary with author Stephenie Meyer and producer Wyck Godfrey. I think it goes without saying that the former—with Stewart and Pattinson's recollections of shooting the picture— is the one swoony fans will go over, repeatedly, with a fine tooth comb, despite some unfortunate gaps, though the latter offers more substance, with the franchise creator giving her observations.
The central bonus is the feature-length, six-part documentary The Making of 'The Twilight Saga: Eclipse' (1:28:00, HD). One can watch the doc as a picture-in-picture track (not sure why one would want to...) or in fullscreen. Either way, you get six segments: "Introducing David Slade," "Pre-Production: Setting the Stage," "The Heart of Eclipse," The Dark Side of Eclipse," "Lights, Camera, Action," and "Post-Production: Leaps in Technology." Most of the principal cast and crew participate in this thorough look behind the scenes.
Rounding out the disc are eight deleted/extended scenes (12:33, HD) with optional director commentary, a Photo Gallery (HD), and the music videos "'Neutron Star Collision' by Muse" (4:18, SD) and "'Eclipse (All Yours)' by Metric" (4:20, SD).
Review gear: |
Panasonic Viera TC-P55VT30 55" Plasma 1080p 3D HDTV
Oppo BDP-93 Universal Network 3D Blu-ray Disc Player
Denon AVR2112CI Integrated Network A/V Surround Receiver
Pioneer SP-BS41-LR Bookshelf Speaker (2)
Pioneer SP-C21 Center Speaker
Pioneer SW-8 Subwoofer


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Apple's iPad and similar tablets could possibly replace traditional Windows-based PCs and Macs as the mainstream personal computing devices used by consumers. But that can't happen unless Apple makes some changes and improves the iPad's functionality while retaining its famed ease of use. Is it possible? Here's what I recommend.
Last year, I wrote about how Apple could fix the iPad in 2011. This type of thing is blasphemy to Apple's empty-headed fanatics, who believe that everything Apple does is perfect. Curiously, however, Apple answered some of my suggestions and complaints with the release of the iPad 2 this past year. So let's take another look: Here's how Apple can fix the iPad in 2012.
First, of course, we should take a look back at last year's suggestions. These included:
Pricing. Apple lowers prices on its products every year in one of two ways. First, it literally lowers the price on equivalent products year-over-year. Second, it holds the pricing line but bumps up the capabilities in the next go-round, giving consumers more value for the dollar. But Apple's iPad is incredibly expensive: it starts at "just" $500, but the average selling price of this luxury tablet is a whopping $665, which is more expensive than the average Windows-based PC. So I argued that Apple desperately needed to lower prices.
Apple would have none of that. And it held the line on its $500-and-up product line throughout all of 2011, and certainly didn't add enough functionality to the iPad 2 to justify doing so. Every single Android tablet that came along and aped this price point failed. And it wasn't until the amazing Amazon Kindle Fire--at just $200, less than one-third the price of an average iPad 2--came along that normalcy came to this market. Between the Fire and Kindle Nook Tablet, which costs an also-reasonable $250, consumers can now see that the iPad isn't just expensive, it's egregiously expensive. And Apple desperately needs to lower prices. Again.
Form factor. Last year, I argued that Apple should release an iPad that was "the exact same size and weight as Amazon's Kindle if possible." Apple didn't, but Amazon did, with its $200 Kindle Fire, which features a 7-inch widescreen display. Well, guess what? Apple still needs to release a Kindle-sized iPad, and one with a 7-inch display would be perfect. So much so that I earlier wrote an editorial about this called How Apple Can Beat The Kindle Fire.
Storage. Last year, I argued that 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB were too small and that Apple should offer its iPad in offer 32 GB, 64 GB, and even 128 GB versions. That didn't happen. But now I'm not so sure it's necessary, thanks in part to iCloud, which provides cloud-based copies of your content and more pervasive connectivity options. I've been happily using a 32 GB iPad 2 for a while now, and I'm pretty sure the current allotments are good enough, not because our needs have changed, but because the technology has changed.
Cameras. The original iPad had no cameras, and I argued that the new version should. And it did. End of story, though these cameras should only be used for video chat, not for taking pictures out in the world. Get a life, people.
Screen. The iPad's screen was too glossy and reflective, I argued, and Apple should make a non-glossy screen available as an option. They never did that, though Apple did supposedly work to make the iPad 2 screen less reflective. (It's still pretty bad.)
Expansion. I argued for integrated USB, SD, and HDMI ports, and Apple somewhat obliged with SD and HDMI adapters. But at least one third party is also offering storage expansion via the dock port, so we're getting there.
In addition to the suggestions noted above, I'd like to see the following changes to the iPad in 2011. Hold on to your hats, because this is a big list, from a conceptual standpoint. That is, it's a Big list. Not a big list.
It's time for another iOS revolution. The iPad's OS was a revolution in 2007, but it's looking dated next to Windows Phone, in particular, and even compared to Android. Apple needs to rethink its mobile OS as clearly now as it did five years ago, and fend off attacks from not just new mobile competitors but from Windows 8 as well.
Computer. In tandem with the previous suggestion, Apple should make iOS the basis for its standard personal computer operating system in 2011 and slowly phase out Mac OS X. It can do this by further evolving iOS to fill in the gaps, adding it to traditional laptop-style devices like the Macbook Air, and by making current iOS devices--the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad--more easily adaptable, if desired by the user, to content creation tasks. That latter bit means formally making mouse/trackpad and keyboard first-class input devices, and creating a version of the Macbook Air that is basically an iPad with a clip-on keyboard + battery.
Apple would have to keep Mac OS X around for a bit for so-called "Pro" apps, but as with the transition from "Classic" Mac OS to Mac OS X, this is something the company could do over a few years.
High resolution, high DPI. While rumors are rampant that Apple will release a so-called "Retina" version of the iPad in 2012, I'd like to throw my hat in the ring and recommend that this happen sooner than later. I don't have any wishes/recommendations around the resolution, but hopefully it will be an easy bump up from the current version (1024 x 768) so that current apps just look and work correctly, automatically. A 7-inch version of the iPad could retain the original devices' resolution.
Simplify the product line. Apple currently sells far too many versions of the iPad--there are 18 different models in the US alone--thanks to two colors (white, black), three storage allotments, versions with just Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi/3G, and 3G choices from two major carriers (AT&T and Verizon). Given the device's dependency on connectivity, I recommend killing off the Wi-Fi-only versions and making a single device that would work on any wireless network. That would reduce the choices from 18 to 6.
While some people react in an overly emotional way to these and related suggestions, I can see a future where simpler devices like the iPad take over for more complex, traditional PCs and Macs. But it's not going to happen until and unless the iPad matures into a more capable product line. It's possible to combine simplicity with functionality, and while Apple doesn't always get it right--the creeping complexity of iOS highlights this--this company is, perhaps, the best positioned to make it happen.
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text:
Digital Circuits
Introduction[edit | edit source]
This book is part of a series on Electric Circuits:
This book will serve as an introduction to Digital Circuits. This book will rely heavily on the concepts of Discrete Math, but will not require any previous knowledge of the subject because all necessary math concepts will be developed in the text. This book will, however, assume a knowledge of basic electrical principles such as current, voltage, and resistance, so the reader may want to brush up on their Circuit Theory.
A mechanical engineer learns to think of everything as a spring. An electrical engineer starts off with building blocks of resistors (circuit theory) and NAND gates. From NAND gates, every part of a computer can be built. Most electronics purchased today contain a huge variety of special purpose chips including a CPU. Mass produced commercial circuits are cheaper to build this way. But digital design is typically implemented today in a chip that can be potentially turned into anything. Most digital courses today plunge straight into programming a FPGA. In any case "design" is important. This course focuses on the design and leaves the FPGA programming for another course.
Table of Contents[edit | edit source]
Digital Basics[edit | edit source]
- Binary Systems
- Digital Circuit Types
- Design Techniques
- Logic Operations
- Number Representations
- Representations
- Gates
- Karnaugh Maps
Combinational Circuits[edit | edit source]
Sequential Circuits[edit | edit source]
State Machines[edit | edit source]
Arithmetic Circuits[edit | edit source]
Semiconductors[edit | edit source]
Function Evaluation[edit | edit source]
Practical Digital Design[edit | edit source]
Appendices[edit | edit source]
Further reading[edit | edit source]
Wikimedia Resources[edit | edit source]
- Embedded Systems
- Programmable Logic
- VHDL for FPGA Design - Principles and Practices
- Semiconductors
- Computer Science:Logic
Books[edit | edit source]
- Horowitz and Hill, "The Art of Electronics", ISBN 0521370957
- Tocci, Widmer, and Moss, "Digital Systems: Principles and Applications 10th Edition", ISBN 0131725793


text:
The Personal Assistant Manager Of The Bank Of Africa.
Bank OF AFRICA/B.O.A.
Ouagadougou, Burkina-Faso.Dear friend,
I am personal Assistant to the Branch Manager of Bank Of Africa(BOA)Ouagadougou Burkina Faso. I want to inquire from you if you can handle this transaction for mutual benefits/life opportunity for you and me. The transaction is about seeking your consent to present you as the next of kin/ beneficiary of the US$10.6MILLION DOLLER,(TEN MILLION SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS),and who is a customer to the bank where i work.
He died in a Kenya plane crash 2003, with his family during their vacation journey. The Fund is currently in a suspense account awaiting claim, the bank made a public notice that they are ready to release this fund to any of his relatives abroad.
THEREFORE, by virtue of its nature as being utterly CONFIDENTIAL, top secret should be maintained please!,because i am still in the active service i do not need any form of implication especially now i'm in the verge of my retirement to endanger my carear at last!.
Since we got the information about his death, we have been expecting his next of kin to come over and claim his money because we cannot release it unless some body applies for it as next of kin or relation to the deceased as indicated in our banking guidelines and laws.
In that regard, i decided to seek your consent for this prospective opportunity. Have it at the back of your mind, that the transaction does not involve any RISK, and does not need much engagement from you, since i am familiar with this kind of transaction being an insider.Necessary modalities will be worked out to enable us carry out the fund claim under a legitimate arrangement. I have resolved to offer you 30% of the total fund, 10% for sundry expenses that may be incurred during the process of executing this transaction and 60% percent for me.
I will give you more details about the transaction when I receive your affirmative response,more clarification information.
I'm waiting to hear from you soon.
Thanks and God bless.
I will give you more details about the transaction when I receive your affirmative response,more clarification information.
I'm waiting to hear from you soon.
Thanks and God bless.


text:
To know more about Orthodox Western Rite in the UK, consult
Folkestone, Kent.
Thursday 27th October 2016: 11 a.m. A MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR KING HAROLD GODWINESSON and all his companions will take place on the 950th anniversary of Sandlake Fight, aka The Battle of Hastings, at the Parish Church of St Mary Magdalene, Whatlington, East Sussex (car park TN33 0ND). Further details from The Guild of St Eadmund
16 September 2013
In the year 597 St Augustine came to England to convert the English to Christianity. By the middle of the 7th century England was substantially Christian, and subsequently organized itself into Bishoprics, Parishes, and practised its religion to such an extent that it not only generated over 300 saints; but also was responsible for spreading Christianity throughout northern Europe.At that time the whole of Christendom was de-facto Orthodox (right-believing). However in the 11th century the western patriarch (styled the Pope) got ideas above his station. Whereas all the other patriarchs were content to administer their patriarchates, the Pope wanted to rule his, and not only his: he wished to assume a universal command over the whole church. This was the cause of the Great Schism of 1054, when the Christian jurisdictions of the east (now known as the Orthodox churches), and the church of the west (now known as Roman Catholic church) sadly split asunder.
The English church continued to be Orthodox, and although the English remained loyal to the Pope, who was still their lawful Patriarch, they continued to practise their religion as they always had. The Pope, being greatly desirous of subjecting all the peoples that he could to his control, took advantage of the overweening arrogance and greed of William the Bastard, Duke of Normandy, and blessed his insubstantial claim to the throne and his unjustifiable invasion of England in 1066, thus converting it into a 'crusade'.
William only just won the Battle of Hastings but, to our great loss and confusion, was able to impose his rule on England, and force its church to accept the Bishops that he set over it, and the heretical ideas that they proposed. Within a century the church in England had become a simulacrum of what it had been, and changed from a Christian church to just another instrument whereby the English people could be dominated and the Norman / Roman Catholic rule could be imposed.
The St Eanswythe Orthodox Study Group*, along with the other missions of the Orthodox Western Rite, exists to reverse the Norman Conquest, and to re-establish our own, pre-Conquest Church in England, using the same liturgy and practices and holding the same beliefs that were held and loved by the pre-Conquest English people: also venerating the many Saints that were manifested in this pleasant land between 597 and 1066.
If you would like to learn about the Orthodox Western Rite and help in this great work, please contact:
Eadmund Dunstall, 28 Quested Road, Cheriton, Folkestone, Kent CT19 4BY
*St Eanswythe is the Patron Saint of Folkestone, and her relics are still present in the Parish Church of St Mary and St Eanswythe on the Bayle in Folkestone. She was the granddaughter of King St Æthelberht of Kent who received St Augustine in 597, and she was the founder of the first nunnery in England at Folkestone.
Western style icon of St Eanswythe of Folkestone
We thank Father Thomas for coming to Weston super Mare on 18th November 2012 to celebrate our first Western Rite Liturgy of Saint Gregory the Great and for continuing to celebrate the Western Rite Liturgy for us as often as possible.
See NEWS section of our new website for details of recent events.
See NEWS section of our new website for details of recent events.
For details of services in the Wessex area, please consult Saint Aldhelm Orthodox Mission in Wessex
The Western Rite Altar at Saint Dunstan's Parish Church, Poole
Courtesy of Father Chrysostom, Parish Priest.
Saint Aldhelm's Chapel where we sing Matins is behind this altar and
can be accessed by the steps visible on the left side of this photo.
Saint Aldhelm's Chapel
7th January 2013
7th January 2013
Celebrating the Christmas Liturgy at Saint Dunstan's, Poole
Celebrating the Christmas Liturgy at Saint Dunstan's, Poole
We were very fortunate to have Father Thomas with us again, this time to celebrate Christmas. The beautiful church of Saint Dunstan's with its impressive acoustics was a very stunning setting for our Western Rite Liturgy. We thank Father Chrysostom, the parish priest, very much for his generous help in allowing us to use the western style altar in the Lady's chapel.
We had a very good attendance, considering it was the first Monday back to work for most people. We were very happy to welcome some Russian and Romanian parishioners among our congregation. Others came from Somerset and Southampton.
Our next Western Rite Liturgy will take place at Oxford during +Bishop Jerome's visit. See Schedule of Services above.
October 5, 2012
Ordination of Father Thomas
Father Thomas and Father Anthony
On October 5, 2012, being the Ember Friday, Fr Anthony, Pastoral Vicar for
Western Rite (ROCOR) presented to His Grace, Bishop Jerome of Manhattan,
Vicar Bishop for Western Rite, Thomas Harry Cook of Nottingham, England for
ordination to the Holy Priesthood in St Ambrose of Milan, Putnam Valley New
York. Father Thomas will be Rector of St Edmund the Martyr Orthodox Church.
He is the first Western Rite priest to be ordained by ROCOR for England. Fr
Thomas is married to Matushka Jane and they have two children. Fr Thomas
has been Orthodox for 6 years and holds a BA with Honors in Philosophy from King's
College, University of London and a DipHE in Orthodox Christian
Studies from the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies, Cambridge. He
will receive his M. Div. in December. The Criminal Background Check required
of all Western Rite Clergy prior to ordination was completed by the
Nottinghamshire Police in June of 2012.
The Rev Thomas Cook
St Edmund the Martyr
7A Victoria Street, Geding
Nottingham, Notts. NG4 3JE
"Dignus est!"
Fr Anthony, Pastoral Vicar
New York


text:
Tag Heuer To Downscale Use Of Tiger
Tiger Woods continues to lose the support of sponsors in the wake of recent events.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Swiss watch maker Tag Heuer said Friday that it will "downscale" its use of golfer Tiger Woods' image in its advertising campaigns for the foreseeable future.
The company said it will continue its relationship with Woods but is modifying its marketing programs in certain regions out of respect for his request for privacy.
How long the change last will depend on Woods' decision about returning to professional golf, the company said. Woods has been a pitchman for Tag Heuer since 2002.
The company said it will continue to support Woods' charitable foundation, which is based in Irvine, Calif.
After initially standing by Woods, the company moderated its support Monday by saying it would assess its relationship with the world's highest-earning athlete.
The Swiss company, a unit of luxury goods empire LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, is at least the third sponsor to back away from Woods since his admission of extramarital "transgressions."
Consulting firm Accenture dropped the athlete Sunday, saying he was "no longer the right representative" of the company's values. Gillette, a unit of the Procter & Gamble Co., said over the weekend that it won't air ads for its razors that include Woods or include him in public appearances. AT&T said it is evaluating its relationship with the golf superstar.
Woods has taken an indefinite leave from golf to work on repairing his marriage after numerous allegations of infidelities that surfaced following a November car crash near his Florida home.
Tag Heuer did not specify in which markets it was curtailing use of Woods' image.


text:
MABLETON, Ga. (AP) — A white man has admitted cursing at a pregnant black Georgia lawmaker for taking too many items into a supermarket express lane but denies telling her, "go back where you came from."
Eric Sparkes showed up during a WSB-TV interview with Rep. Erica Thomas of Austell on Saturday, outside the Atlanta-area Publix store where the incident occurred , the station reported .
He denied making any racially charged comment, adding, "I am Cuban."
Thomas confronted Sparkes in front of reporters and said he had "degraded and berated" her. She has told The Associated Press she notified police and will seek store video.
In a tearful Facebook video posted Friday, Thomas said she was in the express line because she is nine months pregnant and cannot stand for long. Thomas' video went viral as the hashtag #IStandwithErica trended on Twitter.
On Saturday, Sparkes told reporters he called her a vulgarity but did not say anything racial.
Thomas said Sparkes was just trying to make himself look better.
Sparkes said he's a Democrat and was being unjustly attacked for political purposes.
Thomas said Friday that she never identified herself to Sparkes as a public official. She said she was so taken aback by his actions that she didn't think to try to record them.
In a statement, Publix has said the company is "cooperating with local law enforcement as they look into the matter."
The incident came days after President Donald Trump tweeted that four congresswomen of color, including U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, should go back to the "broken and crime infested" countries they came from.
In her video, Thomas alluded to those attacks and accused the president of inciting hate.
During the television interview, she said Sparkes "needs to be held accountable because people can't just go out and berate pregnant women."
Information from: WSB-TV, http://www.wsbtv.com/index.html


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NEW YORK (AP) ? Stock indexes swung between gains and losses in afternoon trading Wednesday as the price of oil rose above $100 a barrel for the first time since July.
The jump in the price of crude could weaken the already U.S. fragile economy by raising costs for gasoline, heating oil and airline fuel. Oil futures jumped 3 percent to $102 a barrel as U.S. supplies dropped and a new pipeline deal by a Canadian company threatened to cut them even more.
Several oil companies rose sharply in afternoon trading, limiting the market's overall losses. Halliburton Co. rose 3.3 percent and Baker Hughes Inc. jumped 5.3 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 5 points to 12,090 as of 2:30 p.m. Eastern time. The average fell nearly 125 points shortly after the opening bell and slowly recovered throughout the day. Gains by energy giants Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. pulled the Dow closer to breakeven.
The S&P 500 fell 1 point to 1,256. The Nasdaq composite lost 4, or 0.2 percent, to 2,682.
U.S. economic reports were mixed. Output at the nation's factories, utilities and mines rose at the fastest pace in three months in October, the Federal Reserve said. Production of autos and parts surged 3.1 percent.
Consumer prices largely held steady last month. The Consumer Price Index dropped 0.1 percent in October, led by a steep decline in gas prices. An index of builder sentiment rose to the highest level since May 2010, but is still well below a level consistent with a strong housing market.
Concerns about Europe's debt crisis continued to linger. The European Union economy grew at an annual rate of just 0.2 percent between July and September, a sign that Europe may be headed for a recession. Together, the 27 countries in the European Union make up the world's largest economy and a key source of revenue for companies in the Standard and Poor's 500 index.
Borrowing rates remained dangerously high for Italy and other large European countries like Spain and France, the latest signal that Europe's debt woes could be spreading from smaller countries like Greece and Portugal and into the industrial core of the region.
The yields on Italy's 7-year and 8-year government bond hit 7 percent, a level widely seen as unsustainable. Comparable rates for 10-year government bonds in Spain and France were 6.37 percent and 3.69 percent. That's far above the 1.81 percent rate that Germany, Europe's strongest economy, has to pay to borrow money in debt markets.
In corporate news, Target Corp. gained 1.2 percent after sales growth and an improvement in its credit card business helped the retailer beat Wall Street's profit estimates. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. plunged 12 percent after the company reported earnings that fell far short of Wall Street's expectations. The company said rising costs for cotton and other commodities cut into profits.
Dell Inc. dropped 1.3 percent after the company said late Tuesday that its revenues will be held back by an industry-wide shortage of hard drives.


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The Tesla Roadster has generated far more conversations than sales, but Tesla hopes to sell far more of the upcoming Model S sedan.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The road is coming to an end for the Tesla Roadster.
Automaker Tesla Motors (TSLA) will stop taking orders for the car in the U.S. in about two months as the carmaker focuses on its Model S electric sedan.
Priced around $109,000 dollars, the two seat Tesla Roadster sports car was never intended to be a huge seller. Tesla reported sales of 1,650 Roadsters worldwide by the end of April, 2011. The car is sold in North America, Europe and Asia.
With its performance and relatively long driving range, the Tesla Roadster helped change the perception of electric cars from being little more than golf carts with doors to actual viable production vehicles.
The Roadster can go from zero to sixty miles per hours in under four seconds, according to Tesla, and can travel about 250 miles on a charge.
Former General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) vice chairman Bob Lutz has credited it with helping to spur GM's development of the Chevrolet Volt
Tesla's next big thing: Tesla's roadster production is coming to halt as the maker of battery-powered cars switches its focus to the upcoming Model S electric sedan.
The first sales of the Model S sedan are expected to begin around the middle of 2012.
At a starting price of about $58,000, the base model will have a driving range of 160 miles, Tesla said, but buyers will be able to pay more for versions with larger battery packs and longer driving ranges. The first ones sold will have an estimated driving range of 300 miles with a price tag closer to $80,000.
Model S will be able to seat up seven people when equipped with an optional third row of rear-facing seats. Tesla hopes to be able to sell as many as 20,000 of the cars by 2013.
Besides building its own cars, Tesla has a business partnership with Toyota Motor Co (TM). to produce a plug-in electric version of the Rav4 SUV and a deal with Daimler (DDAIF) to provide batteries for an electric version of the Smart ForTwo minicar.
The Model S sedan will be built in a California factory that was once used jointly by Toyota and GM.


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Jumping Castle Hire Cape Town Woodlands
Welcome to Jumping Rascals
Why Choose Us?
At Jumping rascals we believe that jumping castle hire should be as easy as 1, 2, 3 that is why we supply a full solution from delivery to set up and collection so all you need to worry about is sitting back and letting the kids have a great time.
Our range includes 3×3 and 4×4 size jumping castles and we have a rental for any time of the year that will suit your needs!! We are the Jumping Castle Hire Cape Town Woodlands you have been looking for.
We Deliver, Collect & Setup
For bookings, your castle will be delivered & set up on the day between 8am – 10am. After the fun is over, collections will happen the following day between 8am – 10am. (We will contact you before delivery and collection and we will always try make sure you get the most fun out of your inflatable. Stop searching for Jumping Castle Hire Cape Town Woodlands and call us today.


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Tuesday is my thirty-something birthday and I wanted to make something fun for myself. A little happiness in a jar for my happy day please! These are great because I know that in no way during the week could I make a cake for myself. I can just put the lid on these beauties and store in the fridge until my day. (okay so we all ate one tonight but there is still 4 left...)
I have seen these fun little cupcakes baked right in the jar over at Babble and had to give it a try myself. {My birthday was the perfect excuse} It's an awesome tutorial but I wanted to make mine on a smaller scale and simplify the mess a little.
I did make mine a little different and wanted to share with you all what worked for me.
1)Mix a white cake mix as directed. Separate into as many bowls as you want colors. (now that I think about it you could just mix the batter and food coloring up in the baggie and save a bowl mess)2) Place each color of batter into individual gallon baggies. Cut a corner of the baggie off.
3)Using the baggie you just filled with caked batter, layer to fill each 1/2 pint jar halfway full of cake batter. If you fill it more than that, it will bake over and out of the jar.
4) Place on a baking sheet and bake at 325 for 45 or so minutes until your knife comes out clean.
5)Scoop the top of the cupcake off to make room for the icing.
(it was a fun surprise to see how beautiful it was inside)
YUMMY!!! Happy Birthday to me!
linking up here


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- Home
- Government
- Auditor
- Deed Transfers
- Real Estate Appraisal and Assessment
- CAUV & Ag District
CAUV and Agricultural District
General Information
Current Agricultural Use Valuation (CAUV) and Agricultural District
General Description
The Current Agricultural Use Valuation (CAUV) program is an incentive offered to property owners of farmland in the state of Ohio. Under the Ohio Revised Code, owners of land devoted exclusively to agricultural use can apply to be taxed based on the current agricultural use instead of the market value. Through this method, agricultural land owners with parcels enrolled in the CAUV program usually receive a lower tax bill.
Only land meeting specific qualifications may receive the reduced taxable value. Qualifying land is subject to a three-year waiting period, during which time, it must be utilized exclusively for agricultural use. Home sites and outbuildings not used for agricultural use are still valued at fair market value.
The required Initial and Renewal applications are filed with the Lucas County Auditor's office. The Initial application is the owner's first (1st) application filed with the Lucas County Auditor's office. Thus, if the property that was on CAUV was recently acquired OR if it is a property that is currently not on CAUV, but the owner has farmed it for the past three (3) years, then, an Initial Application must be filed. There is a processing fee of twenty-five dollars ($25). The renewal application has no fee, and is filed with the Lucas County Auditor's office.
Owners of agricultural lands may file an application any time after the first Monday in January and before the first Monday in March of any year to request that the land be calculated in accordance with the CAUV method adopted by the commissioner for the valuation of such land.
If agricultural land owners fail to file the Renewal application prior to the first Monday of April of the current year, the land will be valued for real property tax purposes in the current tax year at its true value in money, and will be responsible for any recoupment.
Our appraisal staff will conduct a field inspection to verify the actual land use and crop type. Upon completion of the field review, soil values, certified by the State of Ohio, are applied to the parcel. This value, combined with any home-site and wasteland values, equals the reduced land value under the CAUV Program.
During the Renewal stage, if a property no longer meets the qualifications to be enrolled in the CAUV program, a charge will be levied equal to the past three (3) years of tax savings (recoupment). During the Initial stage, if a property fails to meet the qualifications pursuant to the Ohio Revised Code, then the property will not be enrolled in the CAUV program. However, if the property was enrolled in CAUV the previous year (different ownership, etc), a recoupment charge will be levied equal to the past three (3) years of tax savings. If the property was not enrolled in CAUV the previous year, there would be no recoupment as there were no savings.
In all instances the recoupment charge follows the land."
Soil Value
In accordance with the Ohio Revised Code (Section 5713.30 et seq.), the soil values used in the valuation of farm land are updated in conjunction with the triennial and revaluation years of all property in Lucas County. Soil values are calculated by the Ohio Department of Taxation.
Applications may be obtained and filed with the County Auditor between the first Monday in January and prior to the first Monday in March. Applications may include all parcels farmed. Parcels do not have to be adjacent to one another. However, they must have the same owner, and must be used exclusively for agricultural purposes. Farms of less than ten (10) acres must report their yearly gross income, and must maintain an average yearly gross income of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) to continue to qualify for the program.
General Description
The designation of an Agricultural District provides: (1) protection to working farmers from nuisance lawsuits; (2) deferment of expensive development assessments on the land until it is changed to a non-agricultural use; and (3) additional scrutiny of eminent domain acquisitions in certain instances. This program is in addition to the CAUV program.
Only land meeting specific qualifications may receive this designation. The land must have been used exclusively for agricultural production or devoted to and qualified for payments or other compensation under a land retirement or conservation program under an agreement with a federal agency for the three (3) consecutive calendar years prior to the year in which an application is made. If the property is less than ten (10) acres, evidence that the gross income for each of the past three (3) years is at an average of at least two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), or the owner anticipates that the land will produce an annual gross income of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500).Under Agricultural District, it "includes the processing, drying, storage, and marketing of agricultural products when those activities are conducted in conjunction with such husbandry, production, or growth." (O.R.C. Section 929.01).
Owners of qualifying land must file an application with the Lucas County Auditor's Office. If the property is located within a municipal corporation or if an annexation petition that includes the land has been filed with the Board of County Commissioners, owners of the qualifying land must also file an application with the Clerk of the legislative body of the municipal corporation. Owners must renew every five (5) years.
If the owner of the land seeks to remove the parcel from the Agricultural District Program, the owner is subject to charges levied pursuant to Section 929.02(D) of the Ohio Revised Code.
Owners of CAUV and Agricultural District parcels must file both the renewal applications for CAUV and Agricultural District by each respective date specified on the application.
An original/initial application may be filed any time for a five (5) year period. A renewal application must be submitted after January 2, 2024 and March 1, 2024. (The first Monday in January and prior to the first Monday in March of the year in which the agricultural district terminates for the land to be continued in the program.) If the property is less than ten (10) acres, evidence must be presented to show that the gross income for each of the past three (3) years is at an average of at least two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), or the owner anticipates that the land will produce an annual gross income of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500).
Lucas County Auditor Office
(419) 213-4406
Farm Service Agency
(419) 335-6061
Lucas County Soil & Water Conservation Service
(419) 893-1966
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
(419) 424-5004
Ohio Farm Bureau
(419) 849-2128
Physical Address
One Government Center
Suite 600
Toledo, OH 43604
Phone: (419) 213-4406Fax: (419) 213-4838
Monday - Friday
8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.


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Photos of the Month
All images submitted to and chosen from the KEH Camera Flickr Group pool. To view a photographer's profile or to enjoy a larger version of their photograph, click on the link below the image to be directed to their Flickr page.
Thank you to our Flickr members for the wonderful submissions. Please join our group, and your photograph might be featured in next month's post!


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RENTON, Wash. – Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch has a sprained foot but is probable and expected to play Sunday against Atlanta.
Coach Pete Carroll said Lynch got work in practice Friday for the first time this week and looked fine. Asked what it would take for Lynch not to play, Carroll cracked, "Miss the flight? Doesn't show up in Atlanta?"
Lynch rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown in last week's wild-card round win over Washington. He did not participate in practice Wednesday and Thursday.
Wide receiver Sidney Rice did not practice Friday with a knee injury but was listed as probable. Reserve safety Jeron Johnson was questionable with a hamstring and reserve cornerback Byron Maxwell is doubtful (hamstring).
Carroll said newly signed backup defensive end Patrick Chukwurah will likely be active for Sunday's game.


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A strange and mysterious character walks into the room he has an unusual talent for distorting the laws of nature and making them follow his command. Is it possible can someone have this much power? I have seen this before in movies but this was no movie this really happened, it just looked so real.
This is Spin.
Matt Sconce, creator of Power Word: Fall, has released another devastating PK effect. Spin stands on the shoulders of effects that have come before it and takes those concepts to a whole new level. Spin large objects or small objects seemingly with the power of your mind with impromptu ease, with no gimmicks, blowing, threads, or magnets. Instantly repeatable, and absolutely dependable. This effect takes a new "SPIN" on what magicians of the past have done and takes it to a level that increases its practicality, power, and impact. With the "Force" start, and focus on techniques to make the method transparent to the audience, Matt Sconce spends over an hour teaching you how to use this effect in your arsenal of heavy hitters, how to move large objects, and two bonus applications from the creative minds of Shane Black and Shaun Dunn using the same Spin method in a different way. Spin is a new tool in the arsenal of Psychokinetic effects. It is time to step up and Spin the world.
"The work that Matt has put into this is INSANE. I was familiar with the concept prior to the download, but I never knew that it could be this diverse." - Matthew Mello
"Spin is a brilliant addition to any PK demonstration, it is totally impromptu, effective and well taught.. If James Hydrick had this knowledge he may have just fooled Randi..." - Marc Spelmann
"The effect is only limited by your imagination, and as such is a powerful piece. And this DVD is a relatively deep exploration of the effect, and the concept on which it is based." - Sean Fields
"This is very good! Really fooled me and the method made me smile. Extremely practical. How could you NOT use this." - Cameron Francis
"This is a KILLER effect - I LOVE it. Completely impromptu and something you actually WILL do." - Dee Christopher
Sie erhalten die DVD in englischer Sprache.
Video ansehen!


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Release Date: 2000 | Tracklist
never heard of these guys. good review i guess.
Album Rating: 4.5YES. Thanks Kage for reviewing this its one of my favorite albums ever and an overall perfect album. "Vinum Sabbathi" or "I, The Witchfinder" are my favorite songs.
I've been meaning to check this album out for a long time. Nice review.
Album Rating: 3.5Man I love this album in small doses, but really the lack of talent gets to me after a while. I love Let Us Prey much more than this, it's so trippy and spaced out yet still heavy. Come My Fanatics...is better too. Oh, and this is their third album.
Album Rating: 4.0Cool review, they're awesome. This is good, but CMF has always been my favourite
Album Rating: 4.0[QUOTE=Werny]Oh, and this is their third album.[/QUOTE] Oh, thanks for letting me know, I thought their first release was not a real album per se. Come My Fanatics is my favorite as well, actually. That would get a 4.5/5 from me.
Album Rating: 4.0Yeah, same here. It's pretty good.
Album Rating: 5.0i think it's pretty safe to say this album changed my fu**ing life man. and i guess we'll just say it all went downhill from there hahaha. electric wizard have an obvious love and very large understanding of the occult and of heavy and heavily psychedelic music. awesome record, good review, i like how you mentioned the band Boris! hell yeah.
Album Rating: 5.0good review man. This is the heaviest sounding album I have ever heard. Its got such a fucking groove.
Hell, I swear man, this album gives me fuckin' headaches everytime I listen to it. No, seriousely now PHYSICAL headaches! I've only sat through the whole thing once or twice maybe, because whenever I try to listen to it, the headache becomes unbearable after track 2. It's a good album though, nonetheless. And, yeah Kage, I really like your reviews. You might go a bit over the top at times, but you sure know how to paint some vivid imagery:
And if you come out alive, you find yourself in a world overtaken with blazon psychedelia and drenched in heavy metal madness. It takes the stoner grooves of Kyuss and Queens of the Stoneage and straps them to slow, plodding Beelzebub Anthems of Doom that move along like an elephant at the gaze of a Gorgon. Et tu Brute?
This album is sonic sludgy bliss. You really appreciate it so much more when you're stoned though.
I heard of these guys about 7 months ago, some of the songs I heard were pretty good but I also thought quite a few of them were horrid.
Album Rating: 5.0I was listening to this last night at a friends house Cranked way up, and: Weird Tales / Electric Frost / Golgatha / Altar Of Melektaus has such a killer ending, I wish it would never stopThis Message Edited On 02.19.07
Album Rating: 5.0This is so heavy sweet jeebus
Album Rating: 4.0Dried Muffin Remnants: i agree, this album is amazing stoned- didn't they mean to do that?
Album Rating: 3.5no they wanted you to listen to it while drunk
Album Rating: 4.0b-b-but it's called dopethrone...
drunken metal
Album Rating: 3.5shablaman, i was being facetious unless you are too...
Album Rating: 4.0hold on let me look that word up
Bands: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


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¶JSON >> XML (at least for me)
A few days ago, in a similar mood to the one that caused me to start an Atari emulator, I decided to write my own XML parser.
I've had an increasing interest in language parsers ever since I got to the point of parsing algebraic infix expressions and simple C-like languages. I've written about XML annoyances before, but I don't actually have much occasion to work with XML at the code level, because:
- I work mainly in C++, and picking C++ to do your XML processing makes most question your sanity.
- I work mainly with video, and picking XML to do your video processing also makes everyone question your sanity.
And yet, one of the advantages of XML is that it keeps people from creating their own interchange formats, which are typically far more broken. Since I occasionally do need to import and export little bits of metadata, I wanted to see just how much would be involved in having a little XML parser on the side. It wouldn't need to be terribly fast, as we're talking about a couple of kilobytes of data at most being parsed on a fast CPU, but it would need to be small to be usable. And I just wanted to see if I could do it. So I sat down with the XML 1.0 spec, and started writing a parser.
I have to say, my opinion of XML has dropped several notches in the process (er, lower than it already was), and I'm convinced that we need a major revision or a replacement. I got as far as having a working non-validating, internal-subset-only parser that passed all of the applicable tests in the XML test suite, but after writing more than 2000 lines of code just for the parser and not having even started the DOM yet, I had already run into the following:
- The internal DTD subset. This is ugly, due to the goofy non-standard syntax that just borders on being unparseable with a recursive descent parser. About half of the code I had to write was dedicated just to parsing the internal DTD subset. And remember, the internal DTD subset has to be parsed, because it can affect a document in two ways: entity expansion, and attribute value normalization.
- Entities. This was much more of a mess than I had imagined. It turns out that not only can you define entities out of order, but you can include elements in entities, which turns into a recursive parsing architecture that could probably be adapted as a C preprocessor. And to add insult to injury, parameter entities (%foo;) have to be supported since they can be used in the internal DTD subset. At least they didn't allow elements to span entity boundaries.
- Character rules. The rules for what code points constitute a character or a name in XML are crazy, with the base Char production covering six ranges, the one for name start characters covering sixteen, and the one for name following characters covering twenty-two. And no, I refuse to use an array of size 0x110000 to handle this.
- CDATA sections. Not only do I have to check for the starting <![CDATA sequence, which partially overlaps with the prefixes for processing instructions (PIs) and comments, but I also have to scan every text section for ]]> just so I can ban it, even though I don't see why this is necessary. XML doesn't ban > in text spans.
- Other apparently nonsensical rules. For instance, everything in XML for the most part is case sensitive, including the XML declaration which must be lowercase "<?xml"... except when checking processing instructions, where all case forms including <?xML and <?XMl must be rejected. WTF?
All of this adds up to a lot of flexibility and thus overhead that simply isn't necessary for most uses of XML that I've seen. For those of who say who cares and modern systems are fast, I'd like to remind you that every piece of complexity is a piece that can go wrong in terms of an export/import failing, a parser glitch turning into an exploit, or a source of stability problems. This can be true even with a parser that is 100% compliant with the standard if the parser does not have guards against infinite expansion or parser recursion depth. It'd be so much easier if someone would just go through and strip down XML to an "embedded subset" that only contains what most programmers really think is XML and actually use, but I don't see this happening any time soon.
So, in the end, I stopped working on the XML parser and started working on a JSON parser instead. First, it's so much easier to work off of a spec that essentially fits on one page and doesn't have spaghetti hyperlinks like a Choose Your Own Derivation Adventure book. Second, it's so much simpler. Names? Parsed just like strings, which can contain every character except a backslashes and control codes. Entities? Just a reduced set of C-like escapes in strings, and thankfully sans octal. Comments? None. Processing instructions? None. Normalization? None. And as a bonus, it's ideal for serializing property sets or tables. The JSON parser and DOM combined was less than half the size of the XML parser at under 1K lines and took less than a day total to write, and half of that is just UTF-8/16/32 input code (surrogates suck).
To be fair, there are a few downsides to JSON, although IMO they're minor in comparison:
- JSON requires Unicode, but doesn't allow a byte order mark (BOM) at the beginning of the file. Argh!
- UTF-32 support is required, which adds two more required formats over XML (UTF-32 LE and BE).
- Duplicate keys are allowed in objects, but behavior isn't specified in that case.
- The production for numbers is the most complex part of the spec.
Still, JSON looks much more lightweight for interchange. I'm especially pleased that native parsing support is making it into the next round of browser versions, which hopefully will improve its uptake and therefore available tools.